Successional sowing

Gluts and shortages common to most vegetable gardeners. However, with some planning and by sowing seed little and often in batches, it is possible to ensure plants are ready to harvest in succession throughout the growing season.

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Quick-maturing vegetables, including carrots, French beans, peas, salads and spinach, are best sown regularly in small batches. This will produce a continuous, fresh supply of these highly perishable crops.

For plants that are prone to bolting, such as coriander, rocket and spinach, successional sowing is especially crucial.

Choose a range of cultivars for continuous cropping. Quick-maturing ones such as lettuce ‘Little Gem’ and carrot ‘Adelaide’ are ideal for successional sowings, but later-maturing, main-crop cultivars are also useful and, once mature, often remain in good condition for longer.

Plants that do not need to be successionally sown include those which produce fruits over a long period such as aubergines, peppers and tomatoes; those which store well, such as onions and pumpkins; and winter vegetables such as Brussels sprouts and leeks that need a long season to mature and can then be left in the ground to be picked in stages.

When to sow successional veg

Outdoors: sowings can be made every one-to-four weeks, from mid-spring through to late summer

Indoors: the earliest spring sowings can be started off indoors in March. Heated greenhouses allow for year-round sowing, but this is rarely economically viable

Successional sowings are usually made at fortnightly intervals, but this may vary depending on environmental conditions. In practice, this means that lettuce may only need to be sown every three weeks in early spring, increasing to once a week in warm, moist summer weather.

Rather than sowing every fortnight automatically, it may be wise to make new sowings when plants from the preceding sowing are well-developed. As a rough guide, this is when leafy crops have about four true leaves, when peas are 5cm (2in) high and beans about 10cm (4in) tall.

How to sow successional veg

At its simplest, successional sowing is just sowing a row every few weeks. However, to get the most out of this method, this is what you can do:

Choose a sunny site with free-draining soil. Raised beds are ideal for sowing short rows in succession

Cultivate soil well and dig in well-rotted organic material, such as compost or manure, for all crops except carrots